(I've been to many Masses celebrated by this priest. Very
sad, if true. This really bothers me--Mark Ferrante)
April 26, 2004 Priest Arrested in 1980 Killing of Toledo Nun
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TOLEDO, Ohio, April 25 (AP) — A Roman Catholic priest
has been charged in the 1980 killing of a nun whose body
was found in the chapel of the hospital where he served
as chaplain.
The priest, the Rev. Gerald Robinson, 63, was arrested
Friday, five months after the police reopened the
investigation into the death of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl,
said Chief Mike Navarre of the Toledo police.
Sister Pahl, 71, was stabbed about 30 times and strangled on
April 5, 1980. Her body was found in the chapel of Mercy
Hospital here, surrounded by candles with her arms folded
across her chest. She was the caretaker of the chapel.
Investigators re-examined the killing after another woman
said she had been abused by Roman Catholic priests during
Satanic and sadomasochistic rituals, The Toledo Blade
reported on Sunday.
Investigators said that they could not substantiate the
woman's accusations but that her mention of Father Robinson
prompted the police to take another look at the nun's
killing, in which he had always been a suspect.
The authorities said the killing was part of a "ceremony" in
the chapel. They would not elaborate, except to say the
killer acted alone.
activity.
Father Robinson performed the funeral for Sister Pahl.
Investigators said they concluded that the murder
weapon, which they did not identify, was "in the control
of the suspect." They employed a rarely used technique
that analyzes the patterns made when an item is laid
down, but DNA evidence was not a factor, Detective Steve
Forrester said.
On Saturday, Father Robinson's lawyer, John Thebes,
questioned the strength of the new evidence in the
murder case.
"There's a reason these cases are cold and sit for 24
years because the evidence is not good to begin with," Mr.
Thebes said.
The Rev. Michael Billian, spokesman for the 19-county
Diocese of Toledo, did not immediately return a call seeking
comment Sunday.